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Contacting Your Representative

Coordinated campaign

Barton bill backers plan Chicago meeting

Supporters of the Barton bill will meet at the O'Hare Airport Hilton in Chicago April 17-19 to coordinate their 1999 legislative campaign.

In addition to organizing activities for the Barton bill campaign, the two-day meeting will also seek to "generate a higher level of enthusiasm and passion for the project," according to Barney Deden, who has been among the legislation's leading proponents.

The Fabricare Legislative and Regulatory Education alliance (FLARE) is serving as the contact point for participants. James Mayberry, FLARE manager, commented on the upcoming meeting thusly:

"Supporters of the Barton Bill should attend to become part of a motivated, unified force to get this legislation passed. The planning has been completed. What we need now is action! If you want to e a part of the dynamic force, we need you at this meeting!"

Mayberry can be reached by phone at (630) 416-6221; by fax at (630) 416-4150 or e-mail at infloflare@aol.com. Those planning to attend should advise Mayberry of their intentions by April 1.

Meeting hours will be 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 17 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday April 18. The Central U.S. location and the Saturday night stay-over help hold down air travel and hotel costs for attendees. Special room rates are available at the Hilton for $129 a night ($149 for a double). The rates are available through April 1 for those who call the hotel, (773) 686-8000, and mention R. R. Street & Co.

Third time around
Texas Rep. Joe Barton is expected to reintroduced the legislation that would modify cleanup standards for drycleaning solvents this month, which would be the third time he has brought the legislation to Congress.

He first put the bill up for consideration in October, 1995, during the 104th Congress and brought it back for the 105th Congress in May 1997. More than 90 cosponsors signed on to the legislation in the last Congress. All but a handful of those are back in the new Congress. Two of the House cosponsors were elected to Senate seats last November.

A "fun-raiser"
Meanwhile, the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association, hoping to give a shot in the arm to the drive to raise funds for the bill, has announced that donors to the Dry Cleaners Action Fund of America (DCAFA) will be eligible to win two tickets for a Caribbean cruise.

Each donation of $25 to DCAFA will give the donor a raffle ticket and a chance to win the cruise package valued at approximately $3,000. The cruise, sponsored by MACLA and the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners Association and the North East Fabricare Association, will be Nov. 14-21 aboard the Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.

Donation tickets will be available through allied trades and volunteer leaders and through the MACLA office. Dave Norford, executive director of MACLA, said 345 packets of 10 tickets had been sent by mid-February. In all, 2500 tickets will be available for the drawing. Norford said that by keeping overhead low, selling all tickets would net at least $55,000 to support the legislative activity.

Norford said he hopes this fund-raising effort is completed well before the Clean Show in June. With costs of moving the legislation through Congress running upwards of $20,000 a month, additional fund-rasing will be needed.

"We are looking at different avenues. We will need a variety of ways of raising money," Norford said. "We are committed to do everything we possibly can to continue to raise money for this."

Proceeds from the ticket sales will go directly to the Drycleaners Action Fund of America, the central collection point for all money being raised.

While the obvious goal of the raffle is to raise money to advance the Barton bill, the rules of the drawing do not require purchase of a ticket. For details of rules or to participate either as a purchaser or seller of tickets, contact Norford at the MACLA office, (540) 775-2525.

Norford said that Barney Deden, a leading supporter of the bill, purchased the first 25 tickets. Deden continues work for the bill in other ways, too, particularly in building a nationwide support network of cleaners and allied trades people who want to see the Barton legislation succeed.

Deden noted that the Textile Care Allied Trades Association has agree to provide information on the industry's contamination problem and on the Barton bill which can be distributed by allied trades representative as the call on cleaners.

"Every drycleaner will know about our contamination problem and the solution contained in the Barton bill," Deden said

An EPA solution?
While the Barton legislative solution involves setting cleanup standards in soil and groundwater at one-tenth the exposure level that OSHA allows for workers in drycleaning plants, it is not the only possible solution. Talks are continuing with EPA on a non-legislative solution.

During the MACLA sponsored March on Washington last October, EPA officials met with Rep. Barton and industry representatives to discuss the clean-up problem. At that time EPA told Barton it would have an answer by June 1. In discussions with industry representatives since then, EPA officials have indicated they may have a response even sooner.

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Last modified:Mar 8 99
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